The argument over which dialect sounds more pleasing is absurd. if you conclude that Cantonese is more crass to the ear, are you saying that to only Cantonese speakers, when one says to the other I love you, it is more crude in an auditory sense, then if a Shanghainese speaker said I love to another Shanghainese, that is ridiculous. i state this to bring to light that the people of their own dialect are the ones to decide. Otherwise, designation by other outside the boundry, us or by a superior power, just runs into misrepresentation. Whites in America can call blacks niggers ( a derogatory term), because they see them that way. So are they (blacks) inferior in the sense that the term nigger denigrates? Blacks, aside from hip-hop cultural significance, don't think of themselves as niggers, in the form that the term denotes when used by whites. But being that white defintion of culture is so overwhelming, others just naturally come to see blacks the same way, without ever meeting one; they are niggers, or criminals, or whatever. My point, to any non- Cantonese speakers from birth, how can any outsider decide what is crass, worse sounding, or lower in the form of a language. Besides, it is political anyways. If the historical capitals of China, the culture, and the national language were all developed in the Canton region, we would think of Cantonese as elite. Don't be fooled, everyone thinks of American English as the crucial dialect now, (that is those who conform to this belief, Singaporeans rightfully speak English the way they want), being that America is the world colonial power. But 100 years ago, British English was it. Even in the 70's the British made Scots relearn their English because it was 'wrong'. Be careful of your beliefs, as a response to overtones that you have taken in without proper investigation.
I'm a little ashamed of all of you legitamet linguist enthusiasts. You clearly understand the underlying needs when discussing the sensitivities of dialect formulations, designtions, and so forth, but when it comes to a supposed hierarchy of dialect superiority, on a basis of sounding pleasant or represetation of an ethnic group, you all obviously have failed to understand the rules (or falacies) which determine legitimacy among linguistical tribes. Reread any information you can regarding political-linguistic determination and power manifestation as a medium for decision making as to what truth is. Then the relative and unstable nature of what is better or worse will cease. I don't want to sound pretentious, I am exhilarated that you all take the effort to share your views on a seemingly small topic in the face of other interests that dominate our world now, it's just (as mentioned in another forum) the resultative effect of these digressions into what is more authentic, or why Cantonese speakers are reluctant to speak their dialect, or chicken scratch simplified characters are all just victim to manufactured defintion, aware or not, it is not organic in the sense of any real unfolding of history. Finally, a Chinese English speaker once said to me that my New York accent sounded crass, that it wasn't refined like a British accent. I responded by asking "so you mean, my understanding of the world would be more refined if i spoke British English"?, he agreed. If you agree with his point of view, then you are right in saying that Cantonese speakers are at a loss to view reality in a more finite way than Mandarin speakers are able to.

I must take issue with the notion that there is any absurdity at all with preferring one way of speaking over another.

It might be useful if we accept, for the purposes of this debate, that the reasons behind one finding a particular way of speaking more (or less) pleasing to the ear might well lie in economic, political or other foolish bases that do not provide a ?rational? basis (!) for prefering the one over the other. All of those issues aside, I cannot see why it is out of order to have a view as to which dialect(s) sound pleasant.

As far as Southerners are concerned, my money is with Suzhou-hua. But the reason for my bias ought be put on the table - in the form of a kind and helpful Chinese language teacher from Suzhou.

However, I always enjoy hearing Beijingers in action - duiwo laishuo, tingdao "didi-daodao" de beijinghua, xinli juede hen gandong. Once more, no doubt the result of spending a short time in Peking.

I agree, individual preference to hearing any language is without challenge, the same goes for music (remember schoolyard arguments over whose guitar solo was better, if you are from my era), I just was speaking to what I perceive as the misfortunate internalization by some Cantonese, or Min, or Hakka, that their dialect isn't worth learning, and to what processes lead to such a belief. As you mentioned, the influence of the person behind the dialect does make it all that much more intimate.